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A German couple who had been farming in Paraguay for 30 years have been found shot dead at their ranch in the north of the country, the BBC reported.

Roberto Natto and Erika Reiser, both in their 60s, had been kidnapped and shot several miles from their ranch.

Government officials say they were killed by a left-wing guerrilla group, the Paraguayan People's Army.

Their bodies are due to be repatriated to Germany as an investigation into the killings continues.

The couple had been held along with four ranch workers on their farm outside Yby Yau, around 395km (245 miles) from Paraguay's capital, Asuncion.

The workers had escaped but both Germans were killed.

A government investigator said police had found the bodies after a shoot-out with fighters they allege belonged to the guerrilla group.

The investigators said the guerrillas had been demanding money and food from local ranchers to be given to the poor as compensation for alleged deforestation.